Month: June 2012

Naoki Urasawa never fails to entertain me, and Billy Bat is no exception. The series, which he co-writes with Takashi Nagasaki (the art is by Urasawa), tells a story that starts off following a cartoonist, Kevin Yamagata, who finds out that there’s more to the creation of his Billy Bat character than he first thought.…

I watched Indie Game: The Movie last night, and it made me furious. I should start by saying that I knew I would have some major issues with the film, but what I saw was even more shocking than what I expected. The thing is, that “business partner” that Fez creator Phil Fish refers to…

After Wednesday’s post on Indie Game: The Movie and the incredible response it got — surprising even me — I’ve decided to write a follow-up post to respond to the main feedback I’ve gotten (most of it through Twitter, although I received a few emails as well). These are not direct questions I was asked,…

Today is “On Design” day (the last Tuesday of the month), and that means that my monthly column is in today’s edition of The Japan Times, and online here. What’s “On Design”? It’s a column that I’ve been writing for the JT for seven years now (this September will mark the true 7th anniversary). It has…

Hit the camera, edit, repeat. I received a link today from Roman Burch about his video “ON/OFF: SHANGHAI TOKYO.” It’s a fun idea: use your hand slapping the lens as an excuse to create cuts, which also ends up creating a satisfying rhythm. I do really like the idea of making videos using simple constraints…

If you’re at all into indie gaming, then you know there’s something special happening in Toronto. I don’t know why that is, but there’s a fantastic community of game developers doing very interesting things in that city, and you of course need to mention Superbrothers and Capy when this topic is brought up. What has…

The latest episode of the Codex (56) will not be for everyone. In general, I think listeners have come to expect a certain type of music selection on the show — for the most part, going from indie rock to alternative to electronica, and whatever other genre falls through those cracks — but I do…

There’s something really special about the European graphic novel Saigon-Hanoi. Originally released in 1999 by the author Cosey — using a one-name monicker in the world of bandes-dessinées is quite normal — it tells a strangely intimate tale that takes place on New Year’s Eve, as a Vietnam vet receives a random phone call from…

There’s only one candy with a hole in the middle. Apologies for the unnecessary callback to a long-forgotten 80s TV commercial, but this is my clever way (I try) of bringing up the topic of Twitter, and why I suddenly fell off the Twitterscape a couple of weeks ago. I tweeted a lot, too much…

A beautifully choreographed fight/action film can be a glorious thing, and The Raid: Redemption sure is glorious. There was a time when I couldn’t get enough of Hong Kong action flicks, buying DVDs online on a regular basis — and before that VCDs — and roaming message boards that covered them (that’s also where I…